The Class

François and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighborhood. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students. Cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. As amusing and inspiring as the teenaged students can be, ..

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As a public school educator in the US, I was curious about how "challenging" classes might be handled in other countries, and The Class provided an unfiltered -- almost documentary-like -- treatment of a French teacher in a working class part of Paris and his mostly immigrant group of students in a language and literature class. The characters and their stories are quite engaging, and the actors, including the student actors, were very talented. I had to rely on the English subtitles to follow most of the story, so I may have missed some of the nuance of the original French dialog, but the movie told an interesting and seemingly honest (i.e., not always positive) story about a teacher and his students.

THE CLASS (aka ENTRE LES MURS) is a film that is certain to be divisive in some way, whether it be with the borderline slavish devotion to realism or the teacher at the center of the story. While I wouldn't say that I loved it, it was very good on multiple levels. The film follows a teacher (Francois Begaudeau) in a Parisian high school and the class he teaches over the course of a year. Pretty early on, it becomes clear that he has a different approach to teaching than a lot of the other teachers he works with, building a rapport with his students by getting to know them on a personal level. Still, this bunch of inner-city kids aren't the easiest to work with, and have a lot of ups and downs with their teacher. Earlier when I used the word "slavish," I didn't completely mean it in a negative sense. What I really mean is that the film goes to great lengths to accurately portray its subject, the Parisian educational system. I remember bits and pieces from when I was in high school French class, but its an entirely different experience watching what it's probably like onscreen. One way in which this film takes a realistic approach is by using (apparently) non-actors/students to portray the class of students. The end credits also indicate that a lot of the teachers used their real first names, probably because they were also teachers in real life. Most importantly, this film is based on the life experiences of the actor portraying the main teacher, M. Marin, who also used to be a teacher himself. Completing this realist approach is the exclusive use of handheld camerawork and the lack of a score. All of these aspects combine to create the feeling of watching a documentary. Even the dialogue doesn't really feel like dialogue, instead hewing pretty close to how French students probably talk. This cinema verite approach might not work with a lot of people, who might find it boring, but I thought it was compelling enough. The only major issue I have, and this could just be me imposing my cultural experiences onto another, is an event which takes place late into the film. Given that the students in this film are fairly rowdy and occasionally disrespectful, it would make sense that there be some disciplinary action taken. And by and large, the teacher deals with his students in a very progressive way. However, I felt like he crossed the line in one scene where he lets his own students get the better of his emotions, and there isn't any repercussions. For me, this was a large setback to the likeability he had established up to that point, and yet after the event boils over it was like nothing had happened at all. Again, it's probably because things work a little differently in France, but it probably wouldn't fly here in the US, especially in the current academic climate. Overall, THE CLASS is still a very valuable and interesting film for the insight it provides into the inner workings of the Parisian school system and the relationship of a teacher with his students. Highly recommended.

As a retired middle school teacher I am amazed that several of the reviewers who were former teachers have never "lost it" in front of the students and engaged in a "tug of war" with them. I have experienced countless times something came out of my mouth impulsively that I regretted and led to a situation that spiraled out of control. You all must be the most amazing classroom teachers of the past two millenniums and I applaud you for being so incredibly special.

However, for the rest of us mortal educators, this film is honest and raw, and watching it was so uncomfortable at times, I was compelled to pause and walk around a bit. In fact, at the three schools I taught at, our faculty meetings were just as convoluted and strained as those in the movie. I encourage all administrators to show this film to first year teachers so that they learn to avoid the land mines that so many of us have stepped on and lived to regret.

Of course, if you subscribe to the handout, prescribed test, text book style of teaching, this movie will illustrate a style of teaching so beyond your comprehension, that you will have a great future in your state's department of public instruction.

Bon Chance

A retired teacher who wishes he was back in the classroom and would never aspire to entering the world of educational administration

A laudable film applying a cinema verite treatment to the challenges faced by a well-meaning, dedicated teacher of 12 graders in a multi- cultural French classroom. Other than its powerful authenticity, there is not much novel here. It is more like a documentary. Nevertheless, worth the viewing. I am constantly mystified by the title translation decisions with foreign, particularly French, films. The French title, Entre Les Murs, mean Between the Walls.....so why is it given the mundane English title, The Class

I taught in California a high school for many years. What surprised me about this film is the fact that the French students in the movie so closely resembled the kids I taught in Union city, ca. "The class" is far and way the most realistic film about teaching ever made--in my opinion. This is a "must see" for teachers. Don't miss it.

"The Class" makes viewers a fly on the wall in an inner-city french middle school classroom. While the premise may seem mundane at first, nothing about this film is boring. The interactions between the students and the teacher are engaging, if not shocking. The mixture of cultures and the clashes that those differences lead to are done in a very realistic way. You will come away with a better understanding of the french education system and what life is like for educators and students. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this film is the fact that the students are not actors, but real kids; M. Marin is not only a real educator, but wrote the book this film was based on off of his own teaching experiences. The reality of the film is both heartbreaking and entertaining and should be enjoyed by all audiences.